Friends,

On June 28 we received the devastating news that the Supreme Court denied Ross's appeal. Now we need your help, and your signature.

We have launched a petition addressed to the President asking for clemency, to free Ross. Within three days we have already received over 6,000 signatures. We need yours, too!

The Supreme Court initially held Ross's appeal pending another Fourth Amendment case (Carpenter v. U.S.), so when it granted Carpenter we were very hopeful. With Carpenter, the Court ruled that the government now needs a warrant to seize cell phone records to track us. However, it did not address the even bigger question in Ross's case: whether the government needs a warrant to seize and surveil our internet browsing habits and history.

The denial is a personal blow, but also a blow to the Fourth Amendment and privacy rights. We had hoped that not only would Ross receive relief, but that the government would finally have to obtain a warrant before spying on our internet habits. Now our browsing history, and all the relevant and personal information it contains, continues to be open season for the government to delve into and use at will?without oversight, probable cause or disclosure.

The Court also declined to rule on another question: does a judge violate the Sixth Amendment's right to a jury trial when she bases an excessive sentence on uncharged crimes that were never proven or ruled on by a jury? With Ross's denial, it remains that judges do not need a jury's conviction to condemn someone to prison based on uncharged allegations. They can just do it.

Ross's options for direct appeal are at an end. Now we are seeking mercy from the President.

Please sign and share the petition far and wide!

Thank you!

The Ulbricht family